Our Solemn Hour
by Loveless6825
Summary: Halt and Will are on an unusual mission, but what happens when they discover an ancient curse upon Redmont? Will the fief be able to survive, or is this their final hour? Rated T for violence, blood, swearing, and character death. EDIT: Sorry, guys, but I'm going to abandon this...if you want to adopt it, just ask and I'll hand it over...thanks.
1. Chapter 1: A Visit to the Baron

**EDIT: Hey, guys...I'm going to be abandoning this. I just don't think I'll be writing anymore of this, so I'm really sorry but that's just how it's going to go down. If any of you want to adopt it you can go right ahead...I was planning on killing everyone in the end (depressing, I know), but if you don't like that kind of thing you can change it. Just let me know if you want to adopt it.**

Our Solemn Hour

Summary: Halt and Will are on an unusual mission, but what happens when they discover an ancient curse upon Redmont? Will the fief be able to survive, or is this their final hour?

* Rated T for violence, blood, and a few curses, and death.

Chapter One: A Visit to the Baron

"Hurry up, Will. We're going to be late for the meeting we're suppose to go to with Baron Arald." Halt waited impatiently by the door of the cabin, hearing Will sigh from his bedroom and then sighed himself, but with annoyance. "What on earth is taking you so long?"

He entered Will's bedroom, and frowned as he saw Will standing in front of his small mirror, seemingly fussing over his messy, tousled hair. "Hang on, Halt," Will said, trying to flatten the mop of tangled brown stuff he called hair.

"I've been 'hanging on,' as you call it, for at least ten minutes now," Halt said, and then added, "Why are you trying to fix your hair? We're only going to see the Baron."

"Alyss might be there."

Halt raised an eyebrow, and then shook his head, dragging Will out of the room by the elbow, keeping a firm grip. "She'll only think it's strange if you try to be neat and clean just for her. You don't want her to know you like her, do you?"

At that, Will shook his head violently. "No!" he said, somewhat more loudly than was needed.

"You don't need to shout, Will," Halt said in an irritated voice. His good manners had eroded quite noticeably after having been kept waiting for so long. Will really needed to do as he was told when he said that it was time to hurry up and leave, Halt mused to himself. No matter; Will was a good apprentice and well-behaved boy, usually, and he was good company to have around. He would never betray someone, he added silently, as well as somewhat proudly. Yes, he was extremely proud of Will, although he would never let on with that fact.

Especially not to Will, who would never let him live it down.

"Sorry, Halt." He paused. "You're not going to tell her, are you?" Then he exclaimed, after he realized something, "How did you know?"

"Not so many questions at once."

"Sorry. How did you know?"

Halt shrugged. "I have my ways, Will."

Will scowled; he hated it when Halt said that. Unfortunately for him, Halt knew that, and thus said it as much as possible. "Oh, and Will?"

The apprentice Ranger responded immediately. "Yes, Halt?" he asked as they walked out the door, shutting it tightly behind them. His expression changed from one of curiosity to shock and indignation as Halt reached out abruptly and messed up his hair, tangling it even more than before. Halt began to walk more quickly, seeing the murderous expression on Will's face. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Language," Halt said automatically, and then, with a very faint smile on his face that betrayed him completely, replied to Will with the gruff words of: "You looked like a girl, fixing up your hair like that. It would be embarrassing for others to know."

Will frowned. He didn't understand what Halt was saying, but decided to accuse Halt of not caring about Will's own embarrassment. It was his best bet to some revenge. "Embarrassing? For you, you mean?"

"Well. I'm offended, Will," he said as he swung up into Abelard's saddle. His pony turned its head to try and nuzzle him, and Halt fondly leaned down and wrapped his arms around his mount's neck, resting his head on Abelard's mane, burying his face into it. Will took his chance for revenge. Halt's head shot up as Will extended both hands and messed up Halt's hair, risking death in the action, and then swiftly touched his heels to his pony, Tug, which took off in a steady canter.

Trying to restore some neatness to his scruffy hair, Halt scowled at his apprentice, who didn't have to look behind him to know it; he could feel the irritation radiating off of his mentor, who was quickly catching up to him by now. Tug, enjoying the tormenting of his master, and was slowing down enough to frustrate the small boy. Halt was soon riding alongside Will, glaring at him. Will sighed in defeat, and swore quietly so Halt wouldn't hear. Halt signaled for Will to slow down, and after only a few seconds they were riding at a relaxed walk.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" Halt asked pointedly, gesturing to the mess that used to be his neatly fixed hair.

Will grinned. "You looked like a girl with it all neat and nice, so I fixed it for you. I only returned the favor, Halt. Is that really so bad?"

Halt cursed himself for saying that in the first place, and Will's cleverness. "Are you sure it wasn't just revenge?"

"Of course not, Halt! How could I ask for anything such as revenge? I'm the sweet little boy that lives with you and asks questions, as well as saves your life from all sorts of things. I care about you to no end. How could I do something so cruel and cold?"

"Correction. You are the annoying brat who is lucky not to be thrown out today and gets me in all sorts of situations where death is almost inevitable," Halt replied, and then urged Abelard ahead of his apprentice, grinning to himself. Will was silent, but it was a thoughtful silence, not a sad or depressed one. He knew that Halt was just saying that he cared in his own special way. And that was the one thing he wanted most in the world, was Halt's acceptance and approval.

"So glad you care, Halt," Will said finally, ending the discussion with a grin thrown in his mentor's direction. Halt grunted, and Will began his never ending questions. "Hey, Halt, what do you think Baron Arald wants? Do you think Alyss will be there? Why did you make your hair look nice? Will Pauline be there or something? When will we get our next mission?"

Halt answered as many questions as he could, firmly ignoring the one involving Pauline, and he blinked in surprise as he realized they were already at Redmont's castle. Had it really been that long? He hadn't even noticed, and suddenly they were here. Well, that was a bit shocking.

The two Rangers, one an apprentice, didn't bother to tether their ponies; they wouldn't wander off, that was for sure. And now they were late for the meeting. Hurrying through the courtyard, the two attracted many curious and wary glances, mostly because the Ranger and his apprentice were practically running on their way to the Baron's office.

Halt held out an arm to stop Will as they approached Arald's office, and Will froze as well when he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming from the opposite direction. Halt gave a small jerk of his head that told Will it was time to hide, and Will nodded, the two of them melting into the shadows. Halt had to nearly hold his apprentice down when he tried to stand up; Alyss, following behind Pauline, knocked on the Baron's door and entered a few moments later.

The two Rangers stood up. "Alyss is here!" Will cried out softly but joyfully, and Halt hid a small smile. It was amusing when Will was around Alyss, and he wondered when they would finally admit to...uh...liking each other more than friends. Will was thinking almost the same thing, wondering when Halt would admit to loving Pauline, although it was very hard to realize. But Will had been very privileged as to have heard Halt talking in his sleep once, and murmur Pauline's name in a shockingly adoring fashion. He found it deeply touching to know that, after all this time, Halt still had such strong feelings for his childhood friend. He also found it sorrowful.

"Yes, Alyss is here, with Pauline. Do you want to knock?" Halt inquired; Will always enjoyed knocking, since he did it in an interesting way, following a beat he had most obviously made up, but was quite catchy all the same. Even Halt used it sometimes, always when Will wasn't around or was distracted, though everyone knew he had almost no taste for music. Or so he claimed.

"Of course," Will said, smiling. Raising both knuckles, he knocked out his tune, and then an amused voice called out, "Come in!"

Both Rangers silently filed inside of the room, pushing back their deep cowls, and then shaking the tousled still-messy hair out of their faces. Even though Halt's hair was shorter than Will's, it wasn't that short.

Baron Arald raised one eyebrow, mimicking Halt's usual action. "You're both late, you know."

"We know, my lord," Halt said with a slight bow. "Will held us up by paying far too much attention on his hair this morning," he explained in an irritated voice. Will's jaw dropped with the unfairness of it all.

"Your hair was much more neat than mine!" he retorted. Pauline and Alyss smirked, and then Will beamed at his childhood friend. "Hullo, Alyss!"

Alyss smiled. "Hello, Will. It's nice to see you again." She paused, and gazed at the grinning Will and the scowling Halt. "Your hair...isn't really very neat, actually."

"I agree," Pauline said quietly. "I thought you said that he took a lot of time on his hair, Halt? And Will said that yours was even better than his?"

Halt shot Will a dark look, just as Will shot Halt an identical look. "He made sure he corrected that," they both said in unison, glaring at each other, both accusing. Before an argument could break out, Baron Arald, amused though he was, quickly interrupted.

"Since you're late as it is, we should hurry up and get this over with. First of all, there has been an outbreak of extremely strange activity up to the north, a few miles away from here."

"Strange activity?" said Halt. "Such as what, my lord?"

Baron Arald shook his head slowly. "An unknown beast has been attacking and murdering travelers, merchants, and anybody unfortunately enough to pass that way and get in its path. We have no idea what it is, and one man, a lucky survivor, has sworn to seeing more of them, and says that one even made a noise and showed itself to him," he said, and then added in a somewhat scornful voice, "He was somewhat delirious by the beast's poison, since its claws are utterly and completely toxic, it seems, and his mind and memory may have been affected as well. I don't know what to believe," he sighed.

"That is strange," Halt admitted. He frowned. "So...you're asking Will and I to risk our lives and go out to find out what's happening to dear old Redmont?"

The Baron noticed the slight edge to Halt's voice, and reluctantly said, not knowing what the reaction would be: "Well...yes."

Much to his surprise and relief, Halt shrugged and nodding. "Consider it done, then. Will and I will leave tomorrow morning to see what all the trouble is."

"Thank you, Halt," Arald said, and Halt acknowledged the words with a slight bow, not knowing what on earth he was getting he and Will into.


	2. Chapter 2: A Snowbound Mission

**All right. Crap balls; I forgot to start it out like that last time XD! But whatevas haha(:**

**So how do you like Our Solemn Hour so far? And yes, I know I got the title from one of my fave songs, by Within Temptation...XD! But the song really matches the fanfiction! You should listen to it while reading this, all right? Yes, Within Temptation is my most favorite band besides Nightwish, Avenged Sevenfold, or Killswitch Engaged XD! Anyway, why don't you begin to read? XD!**

Chapter Two: A Snowbound Mission

The two Rangers had been traveling all day and night, and soon they had reached a large, wide chasm that seemed to go on forever. "I've never seen this before," Halt said in concern. "When did it get here?"

Will shrugged; he had no idea. "Haven't we been here before?" he asked. "It wasn't there last time we passed here, just last month."

"It wasn't here last time, no," Halt agreed. He shook his head. "This is odd," he admitted. "I don't like this. There's...something wrong here; can't you feel it?" Will nodded, worried. It was very rare for something to make Halt so edgy and concerned. It frightened him.

"Do you think that beast thing is around here?" he asked, trying to sound casual, not as if he were absolutely terrified at the moment. They had to set up camp around here, for God's sake! They had to sleep around here, while a dangerous, toxic monster could be watching them—or be right behind them the entire time, stalking them silently, just waiting for the moment where they would show themselves. Halt noticed that his apprentice was just about ready to begin bawling with fright, and moved to the boy's side, placing a comforting arm around his shoulder.

Will leaned against his mentor, both because he was freezing cold, shivering in the frosty winter air, and because Halt was somebody he knew could always keep him safe, and that would never let anything bad happen to him. "Halt?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, Will?" Halt asked after a moment, gazing at the chasm still, expressionless. Will could almost hear the little gears working in Halt's fantastic mind, and wondered what he was thinking.

"Do you think we're going to die from the monsters?" He was ashamed by the question, asked in a small voice, and Halt seemed to sense that, for he didn't berate Will on the simple worry. He was asking himself the same exact thing. This mission was becoming plenty more dangerous, and he was definitely not looking forward to camping in this area. Who knew what would happen?

But he couldn't let Will know that, of course. No sense in worrying the boy. "Of course not, Will. You know me; I'll never die," he said, unusually in a feigned joking manner. "I'll be here long after you want to be finally rid of me."

Will grinned. Halt always knew how to cheer him up. "It's getting a bit late," he reported, looking up at the rapidly setting sun. "Should we set up camp? Or should we keep investigating some more? Who knows what we could find."

Although Halt was tempted to keep looking around and not settle down in the area, he knew that when darkness fell, they would most definitely be in danger of being either ambushed of assassinated by whatever was out there, perhaps watching them right now. "We'll set up camp," he said firmly, as if convincing himself as well. "Searching for those things in the dark would be extremely dangerous. And we're not stupid."

"All right," Will sighed, and then followed Halt, who was walking alongside the chasm, trying to see how far it went. After a few minutes of nonstop chasm-land, he stopped, shaking his head.

"It just goes on and on," he said. He turned to Will. "Let's go back to the horses, where we left them, and then that's where we'll set up camp. Did you remember to bring the coffee pot?" he asked his apprentice, who nodded immediately. Forgetting the coffee was like forgetting food to them, or Tug and Abelard. Coffee, it seemed, was the most important thing to a Ranger.

They went to find their horses, and then settled down in the small clearing they had found, about a quarter of a mile away from the strange chasm they had seen, that separated the land. That was what made Halt most concerned; did it go all the way around Redmont fief? If so, that could be a big problem. They could all be trapped on the fief, with these strange beasts with them. What would happen, then? Would they all be killed?

But now was not the time to think about that; it was time to set up camp and make dinner. Will took care of the horses and their belongings, while Halt began to cook, making one of those stews they almost always ate on one of these missions, although this one was most certainly odd. At first he hesitated to make a fire, as it might attract those beasts, but then he was reminded by the fact that, in the dark, it would be all the more dangerous. It would be better to face the animals where they could actually see.

"This is really good, Halt," Will said as he began to shovel food into his mouth. Halt raised an eyebrow at him, and Will swallowed the mouthful. "Sorry. I forgot it was rude to talk with your mouth full."

Halt nodded. The boy had definitely adjusted to his way of life. After watching his used-to-be-enemy, Horace eat, Will had come to Halt's cabin for the first time with absolutely horrid manners. Halt didn't even want to think about how Horace ate. If Will said his manners had been fine, Horace must be some kind of monster. **(This is only somewhat after the boar hunt, this fanfiction, if you can tell. So, yes, Horace is still getting beat up by those other boys(: I thought that was something I should do to him, since I despise Horace XD!)**

"Did you bring the honey?" Halt asked Will, setting down his mug of coffee to go digging in the pack supplies. Will frowned, sure that he had.

"You reminded me to, remember?" he said. Halt nodded somewhat absently, now dumping the contents out. Coffee wasn't good without honey in it. Finally he spotted it, and gave a triumphant, "Aha!" Will grinned, holding out his own mug of coffee so Halt could put some honey into it, and then into his own.

Both of them took long drafts of the hot drinks, and then sighed in contentment. There was nothing like warm coffee on a snowy, cold night like this, while they were camping out in a frosty clearing. The two Rangers stretched out, and Halt closed his eyes after a moment. "I wonder why those damned beasts chose this time of the year to show themselves? They could have chosen a warmer time to come and try to kill everybody."

"That's an interesting thing to say," Will said from where he was lying, sitting up slightly to grin at his mentor, who opened one eye and shot him a glare. "Halt, the famous Ranger, is upset over a little bit of snow."

"Just shut up, Will," Halt muttered, turning over onto his side and then closing his eyes, trying to keep himself warm under his Ranger cloak and blankets, while Will did the same from across the fire, but sitting up, since he was taking the first watch and was to wake Halt if he heard any sound at all. That would be no problem, as it was abnormally quiet; even the crickets and the wind was silent. It was unnerving, really, but there would be no apparent trouble to hear someone—or something—coming.

And anyway, he told himself somewhat nervously, who said something would be coming while he was awake and listening, all alone, since Halt would be asleep? Nobody had said that, he reminded himself. Everything will be fine.

Even though he was taking measures to keep himself awake, Will began to drowse, head nodding forward every few seconds, and after a moment he had fallen asleep, the snow drifting in like a white blanket.

Will woke with a start, having had heard a movement from a few feet away—a shuffling noise. The snowfall had thickened while he had been asleep, and he now could see hardly two feet in front of him in the blizzard; the campfire had gone out. "Halt?" he whispered, and then immediately there came a reply.

"Mm...yes?" Halt had obviously been asleep this entire time, and now sat up. "Dear God, Will! How long have I been sleeping?"

At first, Will hesitated to tell him that he had fallen asleep as well, but then decided that telling the truth was the best thing he could do at the moment. "I don't know. I fell asleep after a while. I'm sorry," he said, and then fell silent as Halt sighed.

"Where _are_ you? I can't see anything; the snow is blocking everything out." There was a movement, and this time Will knew it to be Halt. Carefully Will stood up, and then fell over again as he tripped over a small hill of snow. Instead he crawled, shivering, and then finally found Halt, who was gazing around, frowning.

Will felt very cold. Leaning against his mentor for warmth, Will heard Halt say in a shocked voice, "You're freezing! Didn't you have a blanket with you?"

"It fell off while I was sleeping," Will replied, welcoming the warmth that came when Halt draped a few blankets over him, and then put his arm around the boy, trying to make sure Will didn't die from cold. He was shivering so much, Halt could hear his teeth chattering, and frowned. Will had never fallen asleep during his watch before; it was something new that he had.

Then they both froze as there was a strange sound from a few meters away—in the direction of the chasm they had found earlier, whenever that had been. It could be morning now, Halt realized, and that made him upset. How long had they been out here? Abelard and Tug were all right, it seemed, though a bit cold looking; they had been keeping watch instead, knowing that Will was unable to once the boy had fallen asleep. Good horses, Halt thought approvingly, reaching out to pat Abelard on the neck.

He stopped moving once there was another strange sound—this time in their camp, and then he saw a dark shape moving from between the trees, very dimly though, and then it was gone. Three more of the same shapes followed afterward, heading in the direction of Redmont castle, it seemed. Horrible realization fell into place. They were heading toward Redmont castle, where everyone was, most likely sleeping or huddling inside of their houses, trying to keep warm! Defenseless.

And here he and Will were sitting, so terrified that they were frozen where they sat, in the cold, knowing that everyone in Redmont could die if they didn't do something. Will tried to get himself to move, but found that he could barely do so. For Alyss, he told himself, and then gave a shuddering sigh. Swallowing hard, he began to stand, knowing that Halt was getting his weapons—and found them missing.

"Will, have you seen my longbow and saxe knife?" he asked. He knew he had brought them; he never left them anywhere. So where were they?

"No," Will said, and then paused. "They could have been buried under the snow."

Halt nodded, and began to dig, Will joining him after a moment. The weapons were nowhere to be seen. In a clearly worried voice, Halt told Will to get his own knives and bow, and then his suspicions were faced as true: Will's weapons were gone as well. While they had been asleep, something had taken them—or something. Why had Abelard and Tug not warned them? Halt wondered. They should have woken the two Rangers.

Without weapons, the two were practically defenseless, and would not be able to fight off anybody that tried to hurt people in Redmont. That was probably the reason they had taken all the weapons, Halt thought bitterly. Now what would they do? He voiced this thought aloud, and after a moment Will sighed.

"We can still ride to Redmont and warn people," he suggested. "We're not a complete loss to them, are we? We're still useful, Halt. Just don't worry, all right?"

"I'm not worrying," Halt snapped. "I'm just angry that we let ourselves fall asleep while somebody sneaked into our camp and stole our weapons, and the horses didn't do a thing about it."

Will nodded. He was upset about that, too. "Maybe Tug and Abelard fell asleep as well," he suggested, and Halt reluctantly shrugged, knowing that could be a possibility, but not wanting to admit that their beloved horses had failed at something. It was unusual for them to do so.

"Let's hurry on to Redmont, then," Halt said, throwing their supplies together and packing it all away again, yanking on his Ranger cloak and throwing Will his; finally they were ready, and the two of them swung up into their saddles.

It was time to warn Redmont.


	3. Chapter 3: Redmont's Curse

**All right. Chapter three! Woot XD! I hope you guys like this story so far; if not, I'll delete it haha. Cos otherwise, if I didn't, it would just be sitting there...unfinished. And that wouldn't be fun at all! XD! Well, why don't you begin to read? ^?^ lol.**

Chapter Three: Redmont's Curse

The two Rangers were riding hard toward Redmont, and Halt cursed the fact over and over again that they were at least a day away from the castle. It would take them such a long time to get there! And by that time, everyone could be dead.

Halt and Will didn't sleep that night, which they found out was far away when they had set out, but continued riding, stopping only once to eat quickly and water the steaming horses. Neither of them felt cold anymore, but uncomfortably warm in their tension, knowing that they had to warm Redmont right away.

They were riding once again, at night, when suddenly a long, clawed arm shot out of nowhere, knocking Will clear off of Tug. Halt whirled around in his saddle; a bad idea. Another clawed arm caused him to fall off of his pony, hitting the ground hard on his left wrist, which gave a sickening snap, almost drowning out his cry of pain.

He got up, stumbling over to Will, who was stirring, and then sat up, screaming as he saw a sight right behind Halt—something horrid. He began to turn around when he received a stunning blow to his head, and felt himself fall to the ground. Will was there immediately, shaking him violently, trying to get his mentor to wake up from the daze he was in. There was a haunting, trumpet-like howl, and then nearly twelve more answering calls like that, from all different areas of the fief.

Knowing that he was to have a terrible headache soon, Halt slowly sat up, and then Will was gone very suddenly, the clawed arm having reached out and seized him by the neck, thrusting him against a tree, pinning him there as Halt watched in horror, still unable to move at the moment, half of his face in the snow.

Then the beast began to speak. Halt could hear this, and it was in a human's language! But he couldn't make out the words...what was this monster saying? Then he realized he could see it clearly; raising himself up slightly to view as much as he could. Curious now and certain that Will was not in any immediate danger since the beast was only talking to him, though half-choking him at the same time, he opened both eyes and gazed up at the monster.

It was large, with scaly, oily black skin, and huge fangs as well as one single, huge milky white eye in the middle of it's face. It had at least twelve arms, as well as gigantic claws that looked almost as if they were pulsing—no doubt because of the poison, he reminded himself. Instantly he felt all around himself where his most recent wounds were, but felt no puncture marks anywhere; he had not been touched by the poison. Thank God. But what about Will? The boy's head was lolling now, as if he was either only semiconscious or completely lost to the world, and he looked very pale.

Suddenly the monster dropped Will, who fell to the ground, motionless, and then disappeared abruptly. Halt, still in pain, forced himself to go over to Will, who was certainly unconscious. Halt turned him over as much as he could with one broken wrist, and then bit his bottom lip. Will was bleeding lightly from four small puncture marks in his neck, from the claws of the monster. He'd been poisoned. Swearing, Halt carefully got to his feet, stumbling for a moment, and then reached Abelard and Tug, who were as calm as could be, although they had just witnessed the monster nearly kill Halt and Will.

"Why aren't you upset?" Halt asked Abelard, a bit annoyed, fondling the horse's nose before bringing him over to Will. Tug would just have to follow behind; Halt wasn't going to let Will out of his sight, not while he was poisoned and most likely dying.

"Halt...," came a weak voice as Halt attempted to haul Will to his feet. "I can get up myself..."

Halt gazed around to see Will's face. "No. You've been poisoned, Will. What did that monster say to you? You talk, and I get you onto Abelard, all right? That sounds fair to me, doesn't it? And we'll get you back to Redmont, I'll take you to the infirmary, and then I'll make some coffee and bring it to you. How does that sound?" He had to keep Will awake. He had to keep talking.

Will nodded. "Sounds good. Well, the Demon—"

"Demon?" Halt's voice was sharp. "Demons aren't real, Will."

But Will only shook his head. "You saw it, Halt. The thing was a Demon. Well, it said to me that he and the other Demons were getting revenge for something that had been done more than a thousand years ago, and that everybody in Redmont must die from it. We've been under a curse for a long time, and now it's being shown. We have three days, Halt, and then they attack us. Well, four really...since today doesn't count."

"Three days. Well, that's just great," Halt sighed. "We're going to have to hurry back to Redmont as soon as we can, and send a message to Gilan and all of the other Rangers."

"The Rangers were the ones who caused the curse," Will said quietly, now on Abelard. Halt swung up behind him, to make sure he didn't fall off. Will was injured—poisoned—and it was his responsibility to take care of him. "They welcome us inviting the others."

Halt shook his head. "Is that all it said?" he asked as the small party set out slowly, and Halt tried to avoid jarring his broken wrist. Will noticed this, and carefully reached out to touch it, but very lightly since Halt drew it away slowly when he did.

"Are you all right?" the boy asked. He seemed perfectly fine, Halt noticed, but he was unusually pale and a glaze fell over his eyes like a hazy sheet. Yes, he was definitely poisoned.

Will's beloved mentor scowled. "Of course I am," he snapped. "Now, I'll ask one more time. Did the so-called Demon say anything else to you? Or was that all he said before leaving us to die?" For a moment, Will seemed to be thinking hard, and then suddenly stiffened, convulsing slightly, and then went limp where he was sitting. Swearing, Halt held him in place while urging Abelard forward, and the pony took off into a canter, Tug following along behind as they whipped through the forest at a break-neck pace.

They had to get to Redmont right away, or else it would be too late.

_~*~Hours later _^?^_~*~_

Halt and Will had reached Redmont castle. During the ride, Will had woken twice, was awake for a moment—just enough time to mumble something unintelligible—and then convulsed again, falling unconscious immediately afterward. Halt was getting worried now; the convulsions were getting worse.

"...and the arrows...," Will was muttering at the moment. "The—" He convulsed. Unconscious once more.

Getting down from Abelard's saddle, Halt darted over to the other side of his mount just in time to catch Will's limp little body before it fell to the ground. It was dawn now; farmers were waking up, and a few people were down in the courtyard of Redmont's castle. All of them gaped at the scene: Halt gingerly holding his apprentice upright, grimacing from the pain of his broken wrist, and the sight of all the blood. Halt had no idea where all the blood had come from, but found out when there was a cry from behind him.

"Halt!" Pauline was dashing over, eyes wide, looking bewildered. _Oh, God,_ Halt thought to himself. _Please, not now...I don't have time._

He winced automatically as she lightly touched what must have been a very bad cut above his right eye, and then he blinked in surprise as, when she took her hand away, he saw the large amount of blood that came with it. "What did you _do_?" Pauline demanded. "What's wrong with Will?"

"Poisoned," Halt said grimly, and then reached up carefully to find that he _did_ have a very awful cut above his eye. He must have hit his head on a rock when the Demon had hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. How hadn't he noticed that? Well, he thought somewhat bitterly, now he knew where all the blood was from.

Pauline was looking horrified. "What do you mean? Who poisoned...?"

But Halt shook his head and interrupted before she could finish the sentence. "Not who—what. Come with me to the infirmary, all right? I have to...tell you something. You're going to think I've gone completely insane," he added with a forced half-smile. Pauline didn't smile back; instead, she looked wary.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah—you'll see," he said. "Just come with me. Help hold up Will; I can't move my wrist, the left one." Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, he mumbled something, looking away as he did so. She thought she could make out the word 'broken' among his obscured words.

Incredulous, she cried out, "You broke your wrist?" before she could stop herself. He nodded very slightly, noticing that the words attracted many amazed glances.

"Just help me get Will to help," he snapped when she opened her mouth to speak again, and then noticed the frosty look that appeared in her eyes at his tone. "Uh...please," he added, and she nodded. **(So, WHO runs the world? Not men :O!)** Together, they managed to get Will up into the castle of Redmont, up the stairs, and to the infirmary. The physician took one look at the scene, and then rushed over, fussing over the two Rangers' wounds.

In just a few minutes, much to his disgruntled agreement, Halt was forced to sit down, averting his eyes to gaze at Pauline instead while the broken bones were set. Pauline was rather impressed; even when there was a rather sickening crack as the bones were being set, Halt merely blinked in annoyance. If it had been her or anyone else except a Ranger, she knew, they would all be screaming in pain, and some even sobbing.

After it was all over and his wound was cleaned (it was a lot deeper than he had thought) and he was all bandaged up, he gestured for Pauline to follow him out while the physicians worked on the unconscious Will. Standing out in the deserted, semi-dark hallway, Halt hesitated, looking down at his boots. Finally he blurted out what he had been meaning to say. "In three days we are all going to be attacked."

Pauline stared at him in incomprehension. "What do you mean, Halt?"

"I mean that, in three days, Redmont will be destroyed!" Halt was looking frustrated.

"Then we need to evacuate the—" Pauline never got farther than that, because Halt put a hand over her mouth, shaking his head and saying, "Let me speak. Will and I were heading out to where the sightings of the so-called monsters were, and at the very edge of the fief was this huge, wide chasm. It goes all around Redmont fief, we discovered, and at night—at night, these..._things_ come out."

Lady Pauline was looking almost scornful now. "Tell me you're joking, Halt. It's either that or you've gone insane. I swear, what really happened?"

Halt clenched his teeth together. "Listen to me! I'm telling the truth. Will and I were camping out, and it was snowing very hard by the time we both woke up. Will was freezing cold, since he'd fallen asleep for some strange reason, and then when I was getting blankets on him there was this sound. I didn't know what it was at the moment, but then these strange, huge dark shapes came from the direction of the chasm, and they began to go toward Redmont. Will and I got ready to go back there, and then we found out that our weapons were all gone. The strange thing was that Abelard and Tug didn't even sound an alarm, and—"

"What are you trying to tell me?" Pauline demanded. She was looking incredulous. "Are you saying that somebody crept into your camp and took everything?"

"Or some_thing_," Halt said firmly. "I'm getting to that. Anyway, we began to ride to Redmont immediately. We were riding when Will was knocked off Tug by this clawed black arm, and then something else threw me to the ground as well. I fell on my wrist, which is how it broke. Then I got up and went to Will, he screamed, and then the thing knocked me over, which is when I hit my head on a rock or something, getting this cut. Then, while I was lying on the ground, the Demon—"

"Demons?" Pauline was shaking her head. "Halt, you've gone completely insane! Saying that you and Will were attacked by Demons...a strange chasm that you seem to have made up, and an imaginary attack. You really must be joking, Halt, I'm—"

"Pauline, I'm serious!" To her surprise, his voice cracked. "We are going to be attacked in three days now, all because of a damned curse that the Rangers put on Redmont years and years ago! It spoke to Will. _Spoke_ to him. When it cut his neck, poisoned him that way. I can wake him up right now and he'll tell you!" he shouted as Pauline backed away, shaking her head again, and then began to run down the hallway away from him, leaving him hopeless, tears of disbelief in his eyes, and a desperate need to warn people of the coming Demon invasion.

**Oh no! What's going to happen to Redmont? First of all, my legs are aching again for no good reason, as well as my ankles...again. Still. Ugh. But...do you know what will make me feel a bit better since I go insane every time someone reviews? XD! You're right. You can R&R lol. And I'm serious...every time I get a review I have to stop myself from screaming happily. Yeah...I'm weird.**

**XD! ^?^ anyway...**

**Velvet out!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Countdown, Day One

**All right! Well, first off...Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had Writer's Block, and then was inflicted with Starter's Curse on the beginning of my newest chappie for this. Pretty soon you'll also have chappie two for Unlikely Enemy!**

_**One final fight, for this tonight.  
Woah...  
With knives and pens we made our plight.  
Woah...  
And I can't go on without your love, you lost, you never held on.  
We tried out best... Turn out the light,  
Turn out the light.**_

**Sorry. I like Black Veil Brides and was singing along with the song, and I began to write down the lyrics XD! I think I'll keep them there, though. By the way, Andy Sixx is pretty hot. Yes, I'm messed up in the head. Thanks for noticing! ^_^**

**Anyway...I only got a few reviews so far? What's wrong?Are you guys sick or something and can't get on the computer to review and read my stuff and all? Dude...that's just not right...XD Anyway, you should go ahead and read chapter four, all right? Haha XD ^_^**

Chapter Four: The Countdown, Day One

The next day, Will woke with a start in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, and instantly he began to panic and shout for Halt. His cries were cut off abruptly as a hand clamped down on his mouth, and then a voice muttered in his ear, "You're going to wake all of Redmont, Will. Be quiet."

Halt. Will's fright melted away slowly with a sigh, and then he turned slightly, wincing as a few twinges of pain shot through him, and met Halt's dark, brooding eyes. His mentor looked both annoyed, relieved, and—Will blinked in surprise—worry. Halt was never worried. Something bad must have happened. Then everything came flooding back to him. With a gasp, Will looked around, biting his bottom lip, looking for any signs of death.

"Is everyone all right? Did you tell them what happened, about the Demons?" Will demanded, but the almost glum look on Halt's face stopped him. "They didn't believe you." It wasn't a question.

Will's mentor shook his head. "Pauline thinks I've gone completely insane, Baron Arald is also beginning to question my sanity, Sir Rodney suggested that we lock me up...But Alyss believes us," he added suddenly, looking a bit more bright now. "Mostly because you started screaming about the Demons in your sleep, though. What were you dreaming about?"

"Alyss believes us?" Will began to beam. Then his smile faded, and he frowned. "Where's your Oakleaf, Halt?"

His heart sank when Halt ignored the question. "They won't let you be a Ranger anymore, will they?"

"We're officially—" Halt didn't get any farther, since Will began to speak in astonishment and betrayal, and he almost absently shut Will up again by putting his hand back on his apprentice's mouth. "No, you're not a Ranger's apprentice anymore. Because I'm not a Ranger, and Redmont thinks we're insane."

"We're foresters then?" Will looked like he was ready to cry. "Those...those bastards!"

For once, Halt didn't scold him on his use of language, but agreed silently, brooding darkly once more, chewing on his bottom lip in a sign that Will recognized as deep thinking. "They didn't take our longbows or our knives. Crowley thinks we're crazy as well, but he just can't let us be completely defenseless anymore. It's not like we don't still have enemies, Will."

Will was staring at something, and he trailed his apprentice's gaze back to where his wrist was wrapped up and completely still in his lap. "Does it hurt?" Will asked him somewhat curiously, frowning.

"Of course not," Halt snapped.

"Then move it around."

The younger ex-Ranger avoided Halt's glare, and then his mentor grumbled under his breath. After a few seconds, though, his voice became louder. "Fine. It hurts. Does it really matter?" he asked in exasperation as Will acquired a slightly smug expression.

"Not exactly, if you don't want it to. I just wanted to know," Will said flatly. Halt was a bit surprised at how Will seemed suddenly so...rebellious. The poison must have gotten to his head, he mused almost calmly, and decided that Will could hold his sarcastic manner with him for a little while, since it seemed to bring comfort to the boy. They needed a lot of comfort at the time, the two of them, with all that had happened.

Then Will smiled at him, almost a grin. "You look angry, Halt! What's wrong?"

"Never mind, Will." Halt's annoyance was reaching breaking point, which was what Will seemed to have as his goal.

"I'm serious. What's wrong? Did I say something?" Will was smirking now, the smile gone; he couldn't help but smirk at his former mentor. "You know, Halt, now that we're not apprentice/master anymore, we're practically like father/son now! Did you think of that?"

His rebellious act ended abruptly when Halt began to glare again, but in a much more dangerous fashion than before that proved the fact that he was not somebody to mess with, though at the same time Halt thought about that. What would it be like to have Will as an adoptive son? He would have to deal with the questions even more, since Will would be staying with him until he was eighteen and out of the cabin **(couldn't really say house...XD!)**, and the boy wouldn't have anyone to pose as a mother for him, since Halt had no intention of getting married any time in his life now that Pauline basically hated him, but other than that it could be a very interesting experience.

"Sorry. It was just a suggestion," Will mumbled, and then fell back in bed, wincing when he did so. This poison was potent stuff! "When can I get out of bed?" he asked Halt.

"Poisoned and possibly near death, and already wondering when he can get out of bed," Halt mused allowed, purposely doing so to see Will's reaction to his hidden sarcasm.

"I'm dying?" Will's voice was so shrill that Halt immediately regretted his private joke.

"I was joking, Will," he said flatly, and then Will calmed down, but then frowned and began to edge away from his mentor. Halt never told jokes. He must be poisoned as well, or just really upset since Pauline dumped him. Did he cry? he wondered, and then realized that he had said his thoughts out loud, part of the realization because of the dangerous look in Halt's eyes and because he heard himself say the last word.

"Uh...I never said anything." Will quietly swore to himself, wondering how on Earth he so suddenly started to get himself in trouble, when usually he stayed out of messes like this **(I'm having fun writing this, lol)**.

Halt glared at him a moment longer, and then gave it up, leaning back in his chair and sighing. "How are we going to warn Redmont, Will? That's the problem."

They both looked up as one of the nurses bustled into the room, but something out the window caught Halt's eye, and he continued to watch the dark, shadowy shape make it's way over the roof above the infirmary building. He was quite sure it was a Demon, and stood abruptly, causing the chair to fall over in his haste to get over to the window. Frowning, the nurse joined him as he looked out—and screamed as a thin, clawed arm crashed through the glass. Will watched it horror as his mentor and the young lady stumbled back to avoid the needle-like claws.

The arm was suddenly gone, and Halt turned to Will, ignoring the nurse's sobs as she went to get somebody. "The Demons have been attacking all day. It's rather disappointing to know that at least five people have been killed, there have been sightings, and still nobody believes."

Will didn't reply to that, but continued to stare at where the Demon arm had broken through the closed window, and wondered what Redmont would be like in two more days. After all, two days wasn't a very long time. It was a lot closer than they all thought.

_~*~Hours later~*~_

Evening had fallen, and Lady Pauline was striding down to saddle her horse, now ready for her newest Diplomatic mission in order to contact the fief next door; Baron Arald had told her there were some minor difficulties getting the small fief to cooperate with the upcoming war with Morgarath. The only thing Pauline didn't like about this was the fact that there had been so many deaths lately around here, and she was going off alone, with nobody to escort her. After all, she was a trained Diplomat, she had assured the baron.

She just didn't know what she was getting herself into, and realized that once she reached the deep, dark chasm. Incredulous, she swung down from the gray roan she had borrowed, and slowly approached the gap in the ground that seemed to stretch on for forever. Now wondering if Halt and Will had told the truth after all, Pauline looking around, feeling suddenly edgy out here in the open, just right around the area that the two Rangers had set up camp.

"Paranoid," she muttered to herself, pushing the thoughts out of her mind, but continued to glance around nervously, sighing briefly as she hauled herself up into the saddle again, but then froze as a noise came from a few feet away, from in the chasm, and then watched silently as a dark shape pulled itself up and out of the gap, loping away from her, in the direction of Redmont. Sitting there for a moment longer, halfway up into her saddle, she resisted the urge to bolt. Slowly and cautiously, she steered her strangely calm horse forward, and it did so quietly and seemingly without question.

Now Pauline was positive Halt hadn't been lying to her. But still, she couldn't believe the part about the...the Demons, could she? The rest of her doubts melted away as there was a chilling howl from behind her, and then she forced her mount into a canter, now frightened and wondering if she was being either hunted down or herded, or just set free.

At least two hours of riding later, she reached Redmont castle once more, and nearly leaped off the saddle of her horse, dashing into the large building to tell Baron Arald of what she had seen. Upstairs in the infirmary, Halt stood at the window, watching her curiously, and wondered what had happened. Behind him, Will slept, and that was how he had been since dark had fallen completely, when Halt began to watch over him.

Something must have happened to Pauline, he decided, and then sighed. Halt hoped she was all right, at least. Frowning and trying not to think of Pauline at the time, Halt closed his eyes briefly and then opened them to a open, fanged mouth, as if it was getting ready to swallow him whole. Nearly falling over as he staggered back, Halt regained his balance after a moment and then blinked once; the Demon was gone. Going over and slamming the window shut, Will's mentor, breathing hard, backed away from where he had nearly met his death, and then collapsed into the chair he had been sitting in for a while now, and closed his eyes again, trying to make himself fall asleep and not think about it.

The last thing he remembered before finally drifting off, was a dark chuckle from close by. Then the world went black around him.

**If you're wondering, he wasn't killed. He fell asleep, lol. But do you like how this is going? I wasn't very certain, and almost wrote it over again...but then decided not to. I think I'm going to have nightmares of this XD!**

**I had a confession, really. I got the entire idea out of a nightmare, but about a year ago...I'll explain. I was planning my novel/series/whatever you want to call it, and wanted a man monster thing. I didn't know what I wanted. One night while I was asleep, I actually dreamed of my characters. They were being attacked by evil, demon-like things that scared the crap out of me in my head. And I thought, when I woke up, that's perfect! So pretty much you're reading a little idea out of my novel, out of my weird mind.**

**Anyway, R&R, please! I'll have the next chappie up soon, since it's already halfway finished XD!**

**Velvet out.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Countdown, Day Two

**All right! Here's the next chappie, lol. Aren't you glad I'm ready to write again? I sure am, I know that. Beth and I partied all last night. Here she is now, writing a hello (God, she types so slow)! Heh...that rhymes.**

**Hiya! Shut up Corinne. I didn't sit in front of a stupid comp for a year writing like you did**

**Yep...That's Beth. Isn't she awesome? XD! She also made some errors...such as the comma after up (The correct version is this: "Shut up, Corinne."), you shouldn't call it a comp all the time, and you should put a period at the end of the sentence...Yes, I am a grammar, spelling, punctuation Nazi.**

**Anyway, you should read now. I hope you enjoy the next installment of Our Solemn Hour!**

Chapter Five: The Countdown, Day Two

"_Halt!" _At the shout, Halt opened his eyes and then sat up straight immediately, thinking that a Demon must have broken into the infirmary. Then he looked around to see Will, sitting up in bed and breathing hard, eyes wide as if he'd just woken up. Realization dawned on Halt: his apprentice had been having a nightmare.

Then he stood up, frowning, as Will swung his legs out of bed and stood as well, stretching and yawning. "I feel better," he informed Halt, who was ready to push him back into bed, thinking that he was still in pain and affected by the Demon's poison. "No more pain. I feel pretty good, actually."

"I'm sure you do, after that nightmare," Halt said sarcastically. "Oh, did Will have a bad dream?"

"It sounds like I'm a child when you say it like that," Will accused of him.

Halt gave him a withering look. Even though he had just woken up, he was in a very bad mood. "Will, you still _are_ a child. If you weren't, don't you think you would be getting married to Alyss sometime soon, and have a family?" Will looked a bit surprised, for some reason, and then Halt found out he hadn't been listening. The hard way.

"You're getting married?"

"Just never mind, Will," Halt told him, turning away with a sigh. He was nearly shoved out of the way as a bubbly blonde girl suddenly darted by and then nearly smothered Will in a huge hug, practically shouting in his ear with what seemed to be words full of joy. Either that or anger, Halt told reminded himself, and then watched as Jenny began to yell again, eyes shut tight as Will tried to pry her away.

_"Will! OhmyGodyouwouldn'tbelievewhathappened!"_ The girl paused, and then let Will fall onto his bed, gasping for breath. Halt was too busy wondering what she had said to help Will. At least, that was what he would say later when Will confronted him on the fact. "Pauline almost got attacked, and so did Alyss!"

At that, Halt began to try and listen to what she was saying; Jenny's words were being jumbled again as she spoke as quickly as she could. "!"

Halt and Will shared a glance. _What did she say?_ they both seemed to ask each other. Jenny saw the looks, and then took a deep breath, having become slightly dizzy from talking so quickly and without any kind of pause in her words. "Last night, Pauline and Alyss were getting ready for bed when something crashed through Pauline's bedroom window and tried to kill her. Alyss came in to see what had happened, and she almost got attacked as well. Sir Rodney was going down the corridor at the time, and happened to hear their screams. He went in and saved them. They would have been dead just about now!"

Chewing his bottom lip, Halt forced himself to stay silent, to not ask how Pauline was doing. Will corrected the problem for him. "How are they? Pauline and Alyss, I mean."

"They're doing fine now, but I'm sure they'd like to see both of you!" Jenny exclaimed, and began to push the two reluctant Rangers toward the door, not minding the glare from Halt and the protests from Will.

"I'm not even dressed to go anywhere!" Will complained repeatedly, but Jenny continued to hum a song while still shoving them toward the door. "Jenny, just let me get dressed first."

Jenny stopped. "You have five minutes. Hurry up! And you," she said sharply to Halt, who was silently moving toward the other door, at the end of the infirmary, "stay right there."

Will watched in surprise as Halt, scowling, did as was asked, and leaned against the wall while waiting for his apprentice to finish dressing and _hurry_ _up_. Looking up, he saw what was taking the boy so long: gazing at his reflection in the mirror, he was trying to fix up his tangled hair. Mentally slapping himself, Halt strolled over quietly, reached out with both hands, and then messed up Will's hair. Dragging the protesting boy along by the elbow, Halt growled, "I think we've gone through this once before. You don't need to look like a girl for Alyss."

"I was almost done!" Will cried, trying to find something to hold onto, so that Halt would let go and allow him to fix his hair again.

"That doesn't matter. I'm sure she'll fix your hair for you if you just ask her."

"Does Pauline ever do that to you, Halt?" Will asked curiously, and Halt stopped, gazing at him pointedly. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"It's a 'you'd better shut up now, Will,'" Halt told him almost cheerfully.

"Oh." Will let the matter drop.

They reached Pauline's apartment in what seemed like no time, and Jenny knocked on the door. It was answered a few seconds later by a tall blonde girl who gave a beaming smile at the sight of Will, who was sitting on the ground, his elbow still held in an iron grasp, but he brightened up at the sight of Alyss, who hauled him to his feet. "Now that Will's here, I'll be leaving," Halt said to nobody in particular. "I have things to do, and Abelard and Tug won't be able to feed themselves."

"The stable boy can take care of them," Alyss said flatly.

Halt glowered at her. "I have a report from Crowley that needs taken care of."

"You're not a Ranger at the time."

"I..."

"Somebody else can take care of it."

Halt opened his mouth to speak again, but Alyss cut him off, repeating what she had said just a moment ago. "Somebody else can take care of it, Halt. You came here willingly—"

"Whoever said that?"

"—and you're going to stay here for a while. Willingly."

"That's not exactly fair, Alyss," Halt retorted, earning a steely look from her. _Why does she have to be exactly like Pauline?_ Halt thought to himself. "I'll stay for five minutes, just to make sure Will won't be mauled as soon as I turn my back. Then I'll be on my way and gone from here."

"Don't you want to stay for a little while? We've made coffee, and plenty of it," came a different voice, and Halt almost visibly winced, briefly closing his eyes as he turned around and met Pauline's gaze. "I'm sure you wouldn't want all of the coffee to go to waste, would you, Halt?"

"I'm sure you don't want an insane person in your apartment," Halt growled.

It was Pauline's turn to wince, but she regained her composure just as quickly as he had. "And maybe I've changed my mind about that? Didn't the messenger deliver that note to you?" she said in a dangerous voice. The other three shared glances, agreeing silently upon something, and then Alyss spoke quickly.

"How about we go outside and let Will feed Tug and Abelard? I'm sure he misses them both."

The other two nodded, and then went down the corridor, the opposite way of which they had come, leaving the Diplomat and the Ranger alone to glare at each other. "Why don't you come in, Halt? Like I said, we have coffee. And if I remember correctly, a certain insane person likes coffee very much." After a moment's hesitation, Halt nodded once and then went in wordlessly, hearing the door close behind him. It was as if somebody had just closed a cell door, sending him to his death involving coffee, talking, and a rather angry woman. As that angry woman in particular went to get some coffee, Halt sighed, leaning back where he was sitting, and then gazed around at the wreckage the Demon had made, praying almost absently that Pauline wouldn't kill him for whatever he had done to make her upset.

"You like honey in your coffee, don't you?" Pauline called from the kitchen. For a moment Halt considered just sneaking out the door again and making a run for it, but then decided not to, one of the best decisions he had ever made.

"Will does. I pretend to, but I really don't. Most of the time I hold it against him. It's one of the topics in our arguments," he replied, the last sentence merely a mutter, and he knew she wouldn't hear that last bit. Pauline came back in with two mugs of coffee, and she handed one to him, settling back into the chair opposite from him. Drinking deeply, Halt wondered what she would do if he suggested the steaming drink was poisoned. Most likely slap me, he reasoned. "Thank you."

Pauline bobbed her head slightly in acknowledgment, and then they were both silent. It was a rather uncomfortable silence, and Halt wondered what he should say, if there was anything he _could_ say. Thus he chose one of the stupidest things. "How have you been?"

"Very well, considering a Demon attack, near death, my apartment's destruction, and Sir Rodney's becoming injured and poisoned." She was glowering at him now, and he wondered what he had done to make her even more angry than before. "Other than that, I've been perfectly and completely fine, Halt. And how have you been lately?"

"Sir Rodney was poisoned?" Halt frowned. "How badly?"

"Not badly. He'll be perfectly fine by this afternoon, the physician said." Pauline was still glaring at him, and he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Why do you look so damned angry at me?" A burning sensation began in two places: his left cheek, where Pauline had slapped him, and his lap, where his coffee had spilled. Standing up, he gazed down at his ruined leggings, and then winced as the hot drink began to burn his legs. "Get something to wipe this up, will you?" he exclaimed, and the wide-eyed Pauline stood silently for a moment while he tried to lift up his pant legs where the spill was, and then abruptly began to laugh, only slightly at first and then into a growing laughter, eventually having to sit down, holding her stomach, her former anger and usual dignity so suddenly gone.

After a moment of wordlessly staring at her, Halt felt the corners of his mouth twitch, and though he tried to force himself not to, he began to grin, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. Finally Pauline stopped laughing, and the grin disappeared instantly from Halt's face, before she could see it. "I was serious. You'll get me something to wipe this up, won't you?"

"Of course, Halt." She stood, and then turned around, embracing him briefly, while he stood, practically frozen, stunned. "I'm sorry."

The rest of the day passed rather smoothly, and when Will, Alyss, and Jenny returned from their long walk, they found Halt and Pauline sitting next to each other on the couch, talking in ease and friendliness now, and Will was slightly surprised to see that Halt was smiling faintly. The two didn't even notice the three apprentices come in.

"You'll be staying for dinner, won't you?" Pauline was saying. "Or do you want to go back to your cabin and at least change your pants? Those ones are ruined."

Halt nearly grinned. "I'll stay. You can hardly see where the coffee spilled, anyway." He looked up suddenly and noticed the other three, standing rather awkwardly in the doorway. His smile faded instantly, and he retreated to the stoic persona he hid behind. Will was chewing his bottom lip, and then met his mentor's eyes with a grin and a wink, looking back and forth from Halt to Pauline.

Ranger Halt mentally slapped himself. If Will kept it up with his oh-so-knowing attitude about his and Pauline's rumored relationship, though he had no idea what went on between the two, Halt would be forced to punish him. And he was certain that a person looked rather odd without a backside, though he had never seen something like that before. He wasn't sure he really wanted to, but of course he wasn't going to tell his foolish, goofy apprentice that.

"Why is your apprentice looking at us like that?" Pauline hissed in a low voice, so that only Halt heard.

"I have no idea," Halt lied. Pauline sighed but accepted the not-so-satisfactory reply, and then stood up, taking the empty coffee mugs into the kitchen. Halt stood as well, stretching and then going over to his apprentice. "Mind if I have a word with you?" he said mildly, and Will nodded brightly, following his mentor over to the other side of the room, where the two puzzled girls watched them but couldn't eavesdrop. "What are you thinking?" he demanded quietly. He gave Will no chance to reply before he went on. "There is absolutely nothing going on between Pauline and I. You need to stop thinking that."

For a moment Will didn't do anything, but then he scowled. "Then why do you look at her like..."

He didn't get any farther, since Halt was giving him a very dangerous look. "Like what, Will?"

"Like you love her or something! Every time you see her you have this weird look on your face. And then one time, while you were asleep and I was taking the first watch, you said her name. And it was in a love way." Will didn't even know if he was making sense, but decided not to say anything else. The deadly gleam in Halt's eye wasn't encouraging any more words from him.

"I do not look at her in a weird way," he growled. _Do I?_ "And when you heard me say her name, it might have been out of anger. She's always done evil things to me, and enjoys it very much. You need to stop having those thoughts of yours, or else everyone in Redmont will suddenly know how much you like Alyss."

Will's eyes were very wide, and he was gaping slightly—but not at Halt, and his mentor frowned, confused, until his apprentice spoke. His voice was a mere whisper. "Halt. A Demon is staring at you through the window. Don't move."

Halt froze, resisting the urge to spin around and take a look for himself, to see if Will wasn't merely trying to change the subject from dangerous waters and into a different matter altogether. Any doubts melted away when one of the girls gave a chilling scream, which the other girl joined in with. There was a crashing sound from behind him, and then Pauline darted out of the kitchen, stiffening abruptly as she saw the howling Demon in her apartment. Halt had already nocked his bow, which had fortunately been leaning against the wall, and Will drew his saxe knife.

"Get out of here, you three!" Halt said sharply to the women, and they all did as he said immediately, running for help, but leaving the door open. Raising his bow again, the arrow ready to fly free, Halt kept his eyes on the...chuckling Demon? Will's eyes were very, very wide, and went impossibly wider when the sinister creature began to speak. Halt wished that he would never have to hear the voice again.

"Thy attempts art hopeless. Thou cannot win." **(I've studied that way of speaking for years now, in order to write my novel, since the Daemon King speaks that way...unless he's angry. This Demon will be the same way.)** Will was trying to speak to Halt, who was glancing around discreetly to see if there was any way he and Will would be able to escape.

Escape. It was something Halt thought he would never have to do, honestly, but now here he was, eyes darting around the room desperately. _Like a trapped animal,_ he thought in disgust. The Demon laughed, and the Ranger began to wonder if the thing could read his thoughts. He found out if that was a yes or a no when the Demon spoke a few seconds later. "Any attempts to escape are useless. I'd be able to sense them from your mind as soon as the thought came." There seemed to be a more angry quality in the monster's voice, and Halt noticed (rather absently, too) that he had dropped the formal use of words. That was probably not good.

Will looked ready to throw his saxe, but the Demon laughed. "A mere knife, kill me, the King of Demons? Unspeakable." The beast's voice had changed to a low growl, a warning sign. A sudden claw whipped through the air, and Will's saxe knife was suddenly on the floor by the Demon, who lifted it into the air and stared at it briefly with it's single eye. "This weapon is weak," the monster decided after a moment, and the weapon dropped to the floor. "Useless. I was going to just repeat some words to you that we all want you to know, but now that you've threatened me with weapons..."

There was another crash from the window behind the cornered Halt and Will, and the two Rangers were showered in glass, closing their eyes tightly and lifting their cloaks up to block some of the stinging shards. Then Will looked up, one eye squinted since he had been hit, and shouted a warning Halt didn't have time to hear, as something hit him very hard in the back, between his shoulder blades, and he felt a strange rush of weakness go through him.

_ Poison,_ was his last thought before he hit the ground, unconscious.

**Oh now! What's going to happen now? Sorry it took so long again; my computer was being a turd and wouldn't let me go on the internet. Stupid computer...-_- well, it finally let me at least.**

**I'll keep writing and have the next chappie up soon :D! Oh, and the next chapter will be also part of Day Two, since it's not over yet(; XD! I'm having way too much of a good time. Yes, I am pretty messed up, aren't I, writing about deaths and Daemons and writing bloody battle scenes? I love this...*sighs blissfully***

**Anyway...you should R&R. And, btw,**

**Velvet out!**


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